A Tribute to Christian Fathers
June 21, 2009 Ephesians 6:4
I heard on the radio that the average amount spent on Father’s Day gifts is about $50. The number one gift item for Father’s Day is clothing. Power tools come in second. Third place was a card. I’m still trying to figure out why it is o.k. to give dad a power tool on Father’s Day, but you get in trouble if you give mom a blender on Mother’s Day?
As we take some time to think about Dad and family, I would like to pay tribute today to Christian fathers. To be a Christian father is a high-calling, a monumental task. According to God’s plan, being a father is more than making babies and bringing home a paycheck. It is more than carrying out the trash and doing yard work. Fathers are accountable to God for the way in which they lead their family. There is no greater legacy you can leave your children than to be a God-fearing head of the household. Speaking through Paul, God sums up your responsibility this way:
Ephesians 6:4 Fathers, do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord.
Many of problems with youth today are attributed to not having a father in the home or not having a father who provides a positive role-model. I read the story of a preacher who had a stray dog show up at his house. His three boys fell in love with that dog. There were three long white hairs in the tail of what was otherwise a completely black coat of fur. A short time later there was an ad in the paper announcing a lost dog that perfectly described their new pet. Knowing how attached his boys had become to this animal, he took them outside and together they carefully separated the three white hairs in the tail and removed them. The real owner heard that this preacher had found a dog, and came to see if it might be his lost pet. The dog showed every sign of recognition, and the man was ready to take him home. But the preacher said, “Didn’t you say that your dog had three white hairs in its tail?” The owner, unable to find those identifying marks, was forced to leave. The preacher later confided, “we kept the dog, but I lost my three boys for Christ.” His sons no longer had any confidence in what their father professed. He had not practiced what he preached. His actions spoke much louder than his words. And all you need to be aware that your children are watching you to see whether or not your actions will match your words.
We need fathers who are willing to lead their homes in a manner that is God-pleasing, pointing to Christ and living in response to the salvation He gives. A young man named Jim had such a father. He lived in Hamilton, Missouri. While a teenager, he got a job working for a grocer. He liked his work and planned to make a career of it. One night he came home and proudly told his father how shrewd his employer was. The grocer made it a habit to mix low quality coffee in with the premium, expensive brand in order to increase his profit. Jim laughed as he told this story at the supper table. But his father, a Baptist minister, didn’t laugh. He saw nothing funny about the practice of cheating people. He said, “Tell me, if your employer found that someone was pawning off an inferior product to him for the price of the best, would he think they were being shrewd and laugh about it?” Jim could see that his father was disappointed. “I guess not,” he replied, “I guess I never thought about it that way.” Jim’s father told him to go to the grocer the next day, collect whatever wages he had coming, and to inform him that he would no longer be working there. Jobs were not plentiful in Hamilton, but Rev. Penney would rather his son be unemployed than to be associated with a crooked businessman. It was just one of the many lessons James Cash Penney learned from his father on his way to establishing the retail empire that we know as JCPenny. In fact, his name became synonymous with doing business according to the Golden Rule. This was due in large part to the positive witness of his Christian father.
Many of you know that my dad was a pastor. He served 5 different congregations, the last one being in Dallas, where he served for 23 years. His name was Fred, and every now and then one of the more seasoned members of the Texas District will still call me “Fred” because they remember my dad. He’s been in heaven since 1991. Not only is today Father’s Day. It would have been his 82st birthday. So I’ve spent some time thinking about him the last few weeks.
Like any child, there were plenty of times I rebelled against my father. There were times I was sure he was the dumbest man alive. And since I was called into the same vocation, I was often under a very large shadow. I remember leading chapel services at Concordia College in Austin during my sophomore year. It just so happened that the Board of Regents of the college was meeting on campus that day, so they attended chapel. That added to my anxiety when I walked in and saw all these leaders of our church sitting there with the professors and students. Carl Heckmann was our District President at that time. As he was walking out of the chapel after the service I heard him ask one of the professors, “Say, isn’t that Fred’s boy?” That is how I was known through college and seminary to many my professors: “Fred’s boy.” Even when I got to my first parish in Oklahoma, many of the pastors there knew Dad, including my circuit counselor, who had been dad’s classmate, so I was still “Fred’s boy.” And of course, coming back to Texas, I still live with that legacy. It is something early on I resented, then endured, and finally came to appreciate.
Over the years, I have attended various functions throughout our Synod. Many times when I’ve been introduced to people, they have said things to me like “Your father confirmed me … Your father married us … Your father helped us get our congregation started.” I remember someone telling me that he is a Christian today because of my father’s witness to him. And the same is true for me. God worked through him and mom to lead me to faith in Jesus.
It wasn’t always easy being my father’s child. I’m sure my daughters would tell you the same thing about me. Neither of us was perfect. We had our share of disagreements. But he was a Christian father to our family in the best sense of the term. He saw to it that we were brought up in the training and instruction of the Lord. He taught me to be a child of my heavenly Father, as well as his child. He is the one who baptized me, confirmed me, officiated at my wedding (with my father-in-law), ordained me as a pastor. He is also the one who spanked me, although not as often as I deserved. He grounded me, loved me, cared for me, provided for me. But most of all, he brought me up in the training and instruction of the Lord.
Just as I sometimes rebelled against my being my father’s child, all of us at times rebel against being the children of our heavenly father. Sometimes we hear those in the world try to ridicule us by saying, “Oh, you’re a Christian” and somehow we resent it. We don’t realize just how good we have it! We are His Children. He is the one who loves us, loves us enough to do anything for us, even to the point of giving up His only-begotten Son to pay for our sin. Your heavenly Father’s love led Him to provide you a way to escape your deserved punishment for sin. He promises that if you put your faith in Jesus, you are forgiven. You will not have to die eternally. This is what your loving Father gives you.
Earthly fathers who follow Christ have been called to reflect that love in their homes. They are to give us the picture of our heavenly Father, who loves us to the end. There is not a single father who has ever done that perfectly. They all fall short. Yet those who are in Christ Jesus live under the same banner of forgiveness. They confess their sins to God, receive His pardon, and start over in their efforts to be the kind of father God wants them to be.
If you have not been this kind of father, it is not too late to start. God will forgive you and strengthen you to do this. Confess your faults to Him and put your confidence in Christ. Be like that bumper sticker that put it into perspective. REAL MEN LOVE JESUS. Wouldn’t it be great if all children had that impression of their dads?
If you have or did have this kind of father, thank God for Him. And if you still have him with you, thank your father, too. Happy Father’s Day.
